Apparatus for launching, towing and recovering a submersible body from a vessel

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for launching, towing and recovering a submersible and towable body from a vessel includes a saddle, a winch and cable spooling and tension apparatus. The saddle includes a roller box which is rotatable about the axis of the tow sheave to maintain constant pressure against the cable during towing. A skewable Aframe for lowering the saddle near the water surface includes a transom arm which is pivotally mounted to the transom and to the tow sheave. The winch may be a multi-drum assembly, where the drums are co-axially mounted; and the drums are rotatably mounted in peripheral bearings at each end, which are mounted in the ends of the winch enclosure. The winch enclosure has a cover plate with a transverse slot to permit reeling and unreeling of cable from a drum. A latch mechanism provides for positive locking of a drum for rotation or non-rotation, depending on whether it or another drum is the one on which cable is being reeled or unreeled. The drums of a multi-drum assembly also have a transverse slot formed in them; and the lips of each slot are profiled to turn inwardly with a smaller apparent radius of curvature than the nominal radius of the drum.

lUnite b 'ttes atent [1 1 Male [111 3,7fi2fiw [451 Jan, 1, 1974APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHENG, TOWING Al lll) REQQVERENG A SlUBii/HERSHBLEBODY FROM A VESSEL [75] inventor: Neville 11. Hole, Mississauga,

Ontario, Canada [73] Assignee: Fathom Oceanology Limited, Port Credit,Ontario, Canada {22] Filed: Jan. 26, 1973 [2]] Appl. No; 327,003

{30] Foreign Application Priority Data Frimary Examiner-George E. A.Halvosa Assistant Examiner-5her1nan l). Basinger Attorney-Douglas S.Johnson 5 7] ABSTRAT Apparatus for launching, towing and recovering asubmersible and towable body from a vessel includes a saddle, a winchand cable spooling and tension apparatus. The saddle includes a rollerbox which is rotatable about the axis of the tow sheave to maintainconstant pressure against the cable during towing. A skewable A-framefor lowering the saddle near the water surface includes a transom armwhich is pivotally mounted to the. transom and to the tow sheave. Thewinch may be a multi-drum assembly, where the drums are co-axiallymounted; and the drums are rotatably mounted in peripheral bearings ateach end, which are mounted in the ends of the winch enclosure. Thewinch enclosure has a cover plate with a transverse slot to permitreeling and unreeling of cable from a drum. A latch mechanism providesfor positive locking of a drum for rotation or non-rotation, dependingon whether it or another drum is the one on which cable is being reeledor unreeled. The drums of a multi-drum assembly also have a transverseslot formed in them; and the lips of each slot are profiled to turninwardly with a smaller apparent radius of curvature than the nominalradius of the drum.

12 Claims, 21 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJANY m 3,782,319

' sum 01 or 10 FIG. 1

2 12 I02 I w PATENTEDJAN 119M 3.782.319

SHEET 08 0F 10.

' PATENTEUJAN H 3,782,319

' sum as nr 10 PATENTEDJAN' H 4 v sum .10 or 10 AIR lCUOLElD MIQIROWAVIECOOKTNG OVEN AND DOOR BACKGROUND OF THE TNVENTION This invention relatesto a cooking apparatus using electricity, gas, hot blast and the like asthe heat source thereof, and more particularly to an improved cookingapparatus in which the cooling unit is provided to maintain the whole ofthe apparatus at a comparatively low temperature of safety.

The cooking apparatus, in general, use electricity, gas, hot blast andso forth as the energy source thereof. These energies are supplied tothe interior of the oven compartment, wherein the foodstuff and the likeabsorb these energies and thereby the foodstuff is cooked. Since theoven walls and door walls generally consist of metal having good heatconductivity, these walls are heated at a considerably high temperaturedue to the heat from the energy source or the foodstuff when cooking isis progress. Therefore, in order to secure safety in entry andwithdrawal of the foodstuff from the oven compartment, thehandle-attached door as well as the oven walls must be kept at arelatively low temperature.

In conventional cooking apparatus, although the cooling unit for theoven walls is provided by establishing a passage for circulation of anair stream between the oven walls and the cabinet enclosing the ovenwalls, the cooling of the door is scarcely considered for variousreasons. Examples of the cooling unit are disclosed in US. Pat. Nos.3,081,392 and 3,339,054. The effective cooling of the door is essentialfor domestic use. In case of installing the cooling unit in or on thedoor which very often is moved to an open or a closed position, the doorconstruction becomes complicated and much more expensive than previousdesigns and further is inconvenient for the opening and closing of thedoor. in the prior art the cooling of the door is attained by naturallycooling or filling the interior of the door with a heat isolator andaccordingly the cooling power for the door is poor and the door will bedangerously heated to a considerably high temperature due to long,continuous use. In case of microwave oven wherein the foodstuff withinthe oven compartment is cooked by dielectric heating alone, metallicoven walls and door walls are heated a little due to the heat from thefoodstuff and the like, but are not heated to such a degree that theoperator might feel the heat around the door, and thus there is noparticular necessity of the door cooling unit. On the contrary, in caseof another microwave oven wherein a register type heater or a source ofhot blast is provided to produce browning or to speed up the cooking,the radiant heat from the heater, hot air and fumes cause the oven wallsand the door walls to be overheated. Of course, where such overheatingbecomes excessive, it causes damage to the operator in entering andwithdrawing of the foodstuff into the oven compartment.

During the cooking process oil or the other exhalation from thefoodstuff get scorched and stuck to the inner walls of the ovencompartment and the door. In the case where the inner walls areoverheated it is difiicult to remove a stain on the inner wallstherefrom. However, in the case where the wall surface is properlycooled at a low temperature a stain on the inner walls could be easilyremoved by merely wiping off with a piece of cloth after the coolingprocess.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTION Accordingly, the primary object ofthis invention is to provide an improved cooking apparatus wherein aforced-air cooling unit is adopted to cool effectively the interior ofthe door.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved coolingapparatus which is provided with a cooling unit for making an air streampassing over the interior of the door circulating along the outersurface of the oven compartment thereby cooling the interior of the doorand the exterior of the oven compartment.

Still another objct of this invention is to provide an improved coolingapparatus having a simple blower unit for simultaneously exhausting anair stream for cooling the door and an air stream for the interior ofthe oven compartment.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved cookingapparatus having an effective cooling unit suitable for microwave ovenwherein a resistor type heater or a source of hot blast is installed.

In summary, this invention refers primarily to im proved coolingapparatus which comprises an enclosure having an access opening thereinto receive an article or other foodstuff to be heated, at door fitted tosaid enclosure to freely open and close said access opening and meansfor cooling the interior of said door. A blower means for effectivelycooling the door is designed to aspirate air from the surroundingambience and to exhaust air passing over the interior of the door to thesurrounding ambience. The door is provided with an outer wall having aplurality of apertures to permit the stream of air to be introduced intothe interior of the door and with inner wall having another aperture topermit the stream of 'air to escape from the interior of the door. In apreferred example, a microwave cooking apparatus comprises a metallicoven having an access opening therein to receive foodstufi to be cooked,a metallic door fitted to said oven to freely open and close said accessopening, means for supplying high frequency electromagnetic waves to theinterior of said oven, browning means for surface browning of foodstuffand cooling means for sending air to the interior of said door and theexterior of said oven thereby preventing the temperature rise of saiddoor and said oven due to the heat from said browning means.

Further details. will be apparent from the following explanation ofexamples of embodiments of this invention with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTTON OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional view in verticalsection showing an oven structure of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view in vertical section showing anotherembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view in horizontal section showing still anotherembodiment.

DESCRlPTlON OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings,in EEG. it, it will be seen that reference character l indicatesgenerally a cooking apparatus of the type disclosed in theaforementioned summary. The cooking apparatus li contains a metallicenclosure or oven compartment indicated by the numeral 2. The ovencompartment 2 may comprise a rectangular chamber having a top wall, abottom wall,

rigidity is thereby achieved in a minimum of athwartships space and witha lower weight. Also, of course, the frame enclosure provides protectionof the stowed cable against ice build-up; and because the cable isstowed under tension, considerably less hazard due to cable breakage isafforded for personnel working near the winch.

Where a considerable length of cable is to be stowed by the winch forexample, in excess of 1,000 feet the winch construction may comprise twoor more drums which are coaxially mounted. The drums are arranged with atransverse slot in the surface of each drum except the innermost one, sothat cable may be reeled and unreeled from the multiple drum assembly;with the cable being unreeled serially from the outermost to the innermost drum and reeled serially from the innermost to the outer most drum.However, to maintain alignment of the transverse slots in each of thedrums which is outwards of the drum on which cable is being reeled orunreeled, it is necessary to latch those outward drums for nonrotation.Also, because only the innermost drum is driven, it is necessary tolatch the innermost drum and any other drums having cable reeled uponthem with the drum upon which cable is being reeled at any one time forrotation so as to be driven by the winch drive means. Still further, itis desirable to provide latch means for automatically latching orunlatching adjacent ones of the drums as cable is reeled onto or offthose drums without having to stop the outboard or inboard (i.e.unreeling or reeling) movement of the cable relative to the winch.Automatic latching means are therefore provided by this invention whichmeet the above requirements with respect to non-stop reeling in amultidrum winch.

Because the cable is wound under tension, and because in mostcircumstances the cable may be faired, it is necessary to provide amultidrum winch assembly wherein the clearance between drums issufficient to permit stowage of cable on a drum having a transverse slotwithout interference of the cable on that drum with the cable which isstowed on the drum immediately inwards thereof. Also, it is desirable toreduce the radial loads in the material of the drum to zero load at theedges of the transverse slots. This invention therefore provides a drumconstruction wherein the lips formed on the transverse edges of eachtransverse slot are curved inwardly towards the interior of the drumwith an apparent radius of curvature being less than the nominal radiusof that respective drum. By so doing, a slotted drum construction for amultidrum assembly can be provided having a strength comparable to aconventional, unslotted drum; and therefore the multidrum winchconstruction is capable of reeling and unreeling and stowing cable whichis in tension.

It is desirable when working with a faired cable to provide a slotteddrum surface to accommodate that cable. This invention contemplates theprovision of a slotted or grooved drum section by the application to thesurface of the material from which the drum is formed of an outer layerof relatively flexible material which has a cross-section so as to formthe desired grooves at the outer surface of the drum.

This invention also contemplates the provision of a roller box assemblywhich forms part of the launch and recovery saddle for the submersibleand towable body and which can be accommodated to saddles of thenoninverting type. In the usual case, the present invention contemplatesan inverting saddle for the most effective and economical structure forlaunch and recovery of the submersible and towable body at the air/waterinterface. However, other structures also exist whereby a saddle isrigidly fixed with respect to the horizontal at least as defined by thedeck of the vessel and where the saddle is moved to the air/waterinterface by means of a pantographic assembly. However, it would bedesirable to tow the body from a tow sheave which is intimatelyassociated with the recovery saddle, and also to provide means formaintaining a constant pressure against the nose of a faired cable as itpasses from the tow sheave to the towed body as it is underwater. Thisis especially true when the cable is faired so that the body tends to betowed in a position which is very nearly beneath the vessel; and so thatthe cable pierces the air/water interface (the water surface) in anearly vertical orientation. Still further, however, is the requirementthat a roller box be provided which not only has a nose roller but whichhas side rollers, one on either side of the cable, and that the rollerbox be based so as to maintain a position relative to the cable as itpasses through the roller box so that the axes of the side rollers aresubstantially perpendicular to the axis of the cable. This is especiallyimportant when towoff occurs as the vessel turns or rolls, so as topreclude a tendency of the cable to corkscrew. It is also important,during towoff, that the roller box be adapted to absorb sideways loadingas the side rollers make contact with the cable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The above discussion has relatedparticularly to certain of the desiderata which surround the presentinvention and various aspects thereof. These desiderata and the objectsof the invention annunciated hereafter may be more clearly appreciatedwhen considered in view of the prior art, of which the most releventprior art is believed to include U.S. Pat. No. 2,780,196 issued Feb. 5,1957 to Jareckie for Hoist Boom Towing Connection; Hale et al U.S. Pat.No. 3,604,387, issued Sept. I4, 1971, for Means for Launching, Towingand Recovering an Oceanographic Towed Body in a Seaway; and Hale U.S.Pat. No. 3,576,295, issued Apr. 27, 1971 for Means for StowingCrush-sensative Cable Configurations. The latter two patents areassigned to a common assignee with the present invention.

The Jarackie patent teaches an earlier launch and recovery apparatuswhich includes a pantographic movement to swing the towed bodyaboardships from the air/water interface. Such apparatus is subject tovery high transverse loads, and is such that it is not possible tomaintain constant cable length while the body is secured against thesaddle.

The Hale patent relating to the means for storinng crush-sensative cableconfigurations teaches a winch construction which may be single ormultidrum. However, the supporting means for the drum construction isheavy and considerably wider than the width of drum upon which cable maybe wound. Also, the latching means between drums are such that reelingor unreeling operation must be stopped by stopping rotation of thedriven drum.

The Hale et al patent teaches an earlier apparatus for launching, towingand recovering a towed body; but that patent teaches the fundamentalprinciple of an inverting saddle. However, the apparatus taught in theearlier I-Iale et al patent has no provision for moving the saddledownwards to the air-water interface except by inverting it around theaxis of rotation of the tow sheave, and therefore the apparatus is notuseful in vessels having high decks. The I-lale et al patent alsoteaches the provision of free lateral movement for a spooling sheave soas to overcome fleet angle problems; and a spring biased saddle whichtended always to float upwards so as to maintain pressure of a noseroller against the cable during towing operation, particularly so as topreclude the possibility of the cable escaping from the saddle. Thepresent invention, therefore, provides improvements to the earlierl-lale et al I invention in those matters.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to provideanapparatus for launching, towing and recovering a submersible andtowable body from a vessel, including improved means whereby a deckframe upon which a winch, towing sheave and launching and recoverysaddle are mounted may be tilted on a transom arm means which forms oneleg of a skewable A-frame; so that by tilting the deck frame and movingthe tow sheave and saddle close to the air/water interface, the lengthof cable between the winch and the body does not change until it isdesired to move the body through the air water interface. A compactapparatus for launching, towing and recovery of a submersible body istherefore provided for installation on a vessel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cable spooling assemblyfor use in association with a winch upon which cable which is in tensionmay be reeled and unreeled, and stowed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a winch constructioncomprising one or more drums upon which cable may be reeled and unreeledthe second and subsequent drums being mounted coaxially with the firstdrum in a multidrum assembly and where the drum means is supported by aframe including a wrap-around enclosure plate between the ends in whichthe drum means is rotatably mounted, and without massive externalsupport or stress-relieving structures.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a latching assemblyfor latching any two adjacent drums in a multidrum winch assembly wherethe drums are coaxially mounted, which latching assembly isautomatically operative without stopping the reeling or unreelingoperation of the winch and which latches a given drum for rotation ornon-rotation as required, depending on whether that drum or the nextadjacent drum is the one from which the cable is being reeled orunreeled.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a drumconstruction for a multi-drum winch assembly wherein all the drumsexcept the innermost have a transverse slot formed therein, and wherethe lips at the edges of each transverse slot are formed so to providestress relief in the material of the drum when the drum is loaded withcable which is in tension. Also, a drum construction is provided wherebythe outer surface of each drum has grooves formed thereon to accommodatea cable which is to be wound on that drum, and where the grooved surfaceis accomplished by securing an outer layer of relatively flexiblematerial having an appropriately formed cross-section to the surface ofthe drum.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a roller box for usein association with the recovery and stowage saddle for a submersibleand towable body, where the roller box is adapted to maintain aspecified attitude with respect to a cable passing therethrough as thebody is being towed; and where the roller box may be mountedindependently of the saddle, if required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects and featuresof this invention are more clearly discussed hereafter, in associationwith the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIG. I is a general perspective view of a preferred embodiment of theapparatus according to this invention.

FIG. 2. is a side elevation of apparatus such as that shown in FIG. ll,showing the towed body in the stowage position.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2, and shows the apparatus in an extendedposition for launch and recovery of the towed body.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIGS. 2 and 3 and shows the apparatus during atowing operation.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of an alternate embodiment of apparatusaccording to this invention, when the apparatus is in its inboardposition.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the apparatus of FIG. 5 inthe extended, outboard position for launch and recovery of a towed body.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of a cablespooling assembly according to this invention, and including cabletension stabilizer means.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the relationship between the cablespooling assembly of FIG. 7 and a winch drum.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternate cable spooling assembly andcable tension stabilizer.

FIG. III is a diagrarnatic view showing the relationship between thecable spooling assembly of FIG. F and a winch drum.

FIG. Ill is a pserspective view showing drive means for driving thecable spooling assembly of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a perspective, partially fragmented view of a multi-drumwinch assembly and its frame.

FIG. 13 isa partial cross section along the lines I3 13 of FIG. I2.

FIGS. MA to MG are diagrammatic, progressive representationsillustrating the operation of the latching mechanism according to thisinvention. FIG. I5 is a partial view showing a detail of the latchingmechamsm.

FIG. 16 is a further partial view showing another detail of the latchmechanism.

FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of a double drum winch ascontemplated by this invention.

FIG. Id is a partial cross-sectional view showing a typical assembly ata drum surface.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a saddle and roller box assemblyaccording to this invention, together with its associated bias assembly.

FIG. 20 is a diagrammatic view showing the saddle of FIG. I9, togetherwith a towed body and the cable, in the stowage position.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an alternative saddle assembly, wherethe roller box is biased independently of the saddle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS There follows hereinafter adescription of several em bodiments of apparatus as contemplated by thisinvention. In particular, the following discussion relates to apreferred embodiment and an alternative embodiment of apparatuscontemplated by this invention, which in each case embodies theprinciples defined herein but which may vary as to detail of theintegers and mechanical components. Discussion is made of certainparticular aspects of the present invention, including altemativearrangements for a transom arm, alternative arrangements for a cablespooling assembly, an enclosed multi-drum winch, a latching mechanismfor multidrum winch, the drum and surface construction andconfigurations of multi-drum winches, and alternative arrangements for aroller box and saddle assembly. Whenever appropriate, and for the sakeof continuity and clarity of meaning, like reference numerals are usedin various figures of the drawings to refer to the same integer.

As noted above, it is a major consideration of the present invention toprovide an apparatus whereby a towable and submersible body may belaunched, towed and recovered from the vessel while the vessel ismoving. The apparatus discussed herein is such as to withstand heavystock loading on the cable or on the apparatus itself, includingsideways, or athwartships loading on the winch or the saddle and/orroller box; so as to take into account military requirements as well asthe practical, physical requirements of high speed towing in heavy seas.Also, as noted, when a submersiable and towable body is to be towed inthe water, it is preferable to physically force the body through theair/water interface for initial submersion while the body floods;because the body may have negative buoyancy when dry, and so as topreclude the possibility of snap loading the tow cable. When the body isbeing towed, especially with the faired cable, it may be very nearlybeneath the vessel. It is desirable to provide an apparatus whichmaintains cable tension and is able to accommodate movement of thevessel as it rolls or pitches.

FIG. I shows a preferred embodiment of the apparatus as contemplated bythis invention; and includes a submersible and towable body W which isintended to be towed with a faired cable I02. The cable M2 is stowed inwinch assembly 108, and is reeled and unreeled therefrom. A spoolingassembly and cable tension shock absorbers is indicated generally at1106. A pivoting saddle assembly is indicated at MM; and the saddleassembly i ll t, cable spooling assembly 106 and winch assembly 108 areall mounted on a deck frame indicated generally at 1MB.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and t, along with FIG. I, it will be seen howthe towable and submersible body 100 is moved from its stowage positionas indicated in FIGS. I and 2 to the recovery and launch positionindicated in FIG. 3. The towing position is indicated in FIG. 4. In theapparatus of FIGS. 1 to 4, when the towed body 100 is in its stowageposition as in FIGS. 1 and 2, the entire weight of that apparatus istransferred to the vessel at three points per side. Those three pointsare indicated at 204), 2M and 204. It will be noted that the pointindicated at 200 is at the lower end of a transom arm 206, and eachtransom arm 2% is pivotally attached to the vessel at is respectivepoint 200. Suitable cross bracing 216 may be placed between the transomarms 206. The load transfer point 202 may conveniently comprise a rollerassembly which is secured to the mounting deck 219 of the vessel. Theroller assembly 2G2 is adapted to engage with track assembly 210 whichforms part of the deck frame 110. The load pickup point 204 is alsosecured to the deck 219 and it is adapted to support the forward end(relative to the vessel) of the deck frame 110.

A pair of hydraulic cylinders 212 may conveniently be attached to thedeck frame 110, one on either side thereof, so that the ends of thehydraulic cylinders at 214 are pivotally attached near the load pickupmint 202.

The saddle assembly 104 comprises, interalia, an inverting saddle I12and a rotatable towing sheave 114. The axis of rotation of the saddleI12 and sheave 114 is indicated generally at 218. I

When it is desired to launch the body 100, the h draulic cylinders 212are extended as indicated in FIG. 3. It will be noted that the entiredeck frame is moved backwardly and downwardly with respect to thevessel, and particularly that a transom arm 206 which is pivotallyattached to the transom 208 at point 200 is pivoted backwardly anddownwardly. It will also be noted that the entire weight of theapparatus with the body 1100 still in its stowage position as shown infull lines in FIG. 3 is picked up and transferred to the vessel atpoints 200 and 202; and therefore that the transom arms 206 and the deckframe 110 form a skewable A- frame having its apex at the axis ofrotation 218. It will also be noted that the length of cable from thewinch 108 to the outer end of the cable where it is secured to bodylltltl is unchanged as the skewable A frame is skewed and the axis ofrotation 218 of the saddle is brought close to the waters surface. Byreleasing a suitable brake assembly on the winch 103, the saddle 112 ispermitted to invert from the stowage position to the position indicatedin ghost lines in FIG. 3, because a certain amount of cable is permittedto unreel from the winch 108. However, only sufficient cable to permitthe inverting of the saddle is first unreeled from winch 108, as thebody pierces the air/water interface and is securely held in its saddle112 below the surface of the water for flooding period. Further cable isthen permitted to be unreeled from the winch, and the body begins tosink and tow in a submerged condition. When the body is sufficientlybelow the surface, the hydraulic cylinders 212 are retracted, and thedeck frame 110 and transom arms 2% assume their original position, butwith the body being towed as indicated in FIG. 4. Thus, the skewable Aframe which is formed by the deck frame and the transom arm pivoted tothe transom of the vessle is such as to permit controlled launch of thesubmersible and towable body. The recovery operation is, of course,essentially the reverse of the launch operation discussed above. Theskewable A-frame has one foot being at the pivot point 200 for thetransom arm, and the other foot being at the point 202 where load fromthe apparatus is transferred to the vessel above the pivot and loadtransfer point 200. The apex of the skewable A-frame is defined at theaxis of rotation of the sheave I114.

In the usual circumstance, a pair of transome arms 206 are pivotallymounted to the transom 208. As

noted, the upper ends of the transom arms are adopted to bearinglysupport the sheave 1114. The points 299 at which the transom arms 296mount to transom 299 of the vessel are, of course, below the winch 1199.

An alternative transom arm arrangement is indicated in FlGS. 5 and 6. Inthis embodiment, there is at least one transom arm 999, and usually apair of transom arms which are pivotally mounted at their lower ends 996to the transom 929. The upper ends of the transom arms 999 are adaptedto bearingly support a sheave 922 which is rotatably mounted with itsaxis of rotation indicated at 999. Once again, the sheave 922 isphysically situated lengthwise along the cable 924 which is reeled andunreeled from winch 926. [in this embodiment, winch 926 is shown asbeing essentially open and having side frame members 929 supporting it.]

At least one hydraulic ram or cylinder 994 is pivotally mounted to thedeck of the vessel at 914, and is also pivotally mounted at its otherend 9l6-to a tilt arm 992 which supports the entire assembly includingwinch 926 and side supports 929 from its upper end at 9112. The tilt arm992 is pivotally mounted to the deck of the vessel at 9119.

When the apparatus of FIGS. 5 and 6 is to be tilted so as to swing thetransom arm 999 backwardly and downwardly with respect to the vessel tobring sheave 922 and the saddle 939 into close proximity with theair/water interface, the hydraulic ram 994 is actuated and the tilt arm992 is driven upwardly and backwardly from the position shown in FIG. 5to the position shown in FIG. 6. Of course, the transom arm drivesbackwardly and downwardly, as shown, and a skewable A- frame is formedbetween the lower pivotal point 996 of transom arm 999, the axis999(about which the upper end of transom arm 999 and sheave 922 arerotatable), and the stop 9119 against which the deck frame 932 is drivenby the motion of tilt arm 992 and through which point load istransferred from the deck frame 932 including winch 926 etc. to thevessel.

The towing position of the apparatus of FIGS. 5 and 6, is of course, asindicated in FIG. 5 with the transom arm 999 swung upwardly to itsoriginal, stowage position.

FTG. '7 shows a cable spooling assembly and a cable tension stabilizerassembly which are generally indicated at 196 in F933. 1 to 4. lit willbe noted in FIGS. 11 to 4 that cable 1192 is reeled forward from the topof the winch 1199 past the cable spooling assembly 196 and thencerearwardly to the sheave 11114. The assembly 196 includes a beam orfirst arm 499 which is rotatably mounted in a pair of bearings 492.Bearings 492 are supported in housings 429 which are attached to thedeck frame 119. The beam 499 essentially comprises a box section so thatthe faired cable 192 can move freely along the beam, substantially alongthe longitudinal axis thereof indicated at 426. A second arm or pair ofarms 494 is rotatably mounted at 496 to the first arm 499. Sheaves 499and 4119 are bearingly mounted in the arms 494 at 439 respectively. Theaxis of rotation 434 of the rotatable mounting of arm 494 to arm 499 issubstantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation 426 of arm 499 inbearings 492. it will be further noted, especially with reference toFIGS. l to 4, that the direction of the axis of rotation 434 issubstantially parallel to the axis of the winch 1199.

With reference to FIGS. '7 and 9 together, where FIG. 9 shows therelationship of sheaves 499 and 4T9 to a winch diagamatically indicatedat 429, it will be noted that the upper cable reach 422 which extends tothe winch 429 from the upper sheave 419 is substantially parallel to thelower cable reach 424. Also, it is noted that the upper reach 422 issubstantially at the same height as the top of the winch. The cable 192is under tension, as indicated by arrows 4116 and 419 on the lower andupper reaches 424 and 422 respectively. In this embodiment, the arm 499is free to rotate in its bearing 492, and because the cable is intension, the arm will rotate so that the upper cable reach 422 maydescribe an are as indicated at 436 in FIG. 9, depending upon where theupper cable reach 422 is reeling or unreeling from the winch 199. Thus,the arm 494 pivots from side to side with arm 499 so as to achieve theshortest cable-run distance from the winch to the towoff sheave with thecable tension, and thereby reducing the fleet angle of spooling from thedrum 429 of the winch 1199 to the upper sheave 4119 to substantiallyzero fleet angle. Because the lower cable reach 424 is sub stantiallycoaxial with the axis of rotation 426 of the arm 499, there is no fleetangle between the lower sheave 499 and the tow-sheave.

Another feature of the apparatus illustrated in Fit 7 is that itincludes a cable tension stabilizer which comprises a pair of shockabsorbers which, in this case, are hydraulic cylinders 4112 Thehydraulic cylinders 4112 are pressurized from an oil/gas accumulator4114, and are mounted between the arm 494 and 499 Thus, the arm 494 isbiased so as to resist pivoting motion about its rotational axis 434When a transient load increase occurs in the cable 192, therebyincreasing the cable tension as shown at 426 and 4H9, a torque iscreated by the cable 1192 on the arm 494 about axis 434, and actsagainst the shock absorber 4112 so as to damp out the transient load.Such loads may occur because of the vessels movement in rough waterduring towing. NOS. 2 and 4 show the upper sheave rotated backwardly atposition 419A, in ghost lines; and in normal operating conditions, theposition of the sheave 4119 may be somewhat as indicated in F168. 2 and4. 0f course, arm 494 and sheave 499 are also swung forwardly or to theright as indicated in FIG. 7 and the cylinders 412 are extended orpartially extended under the influence of pressure from the accumulator4114. Other shock absorber means may be provided, acting forwardly withrespect to the fore-andaft direction of the vessel against the arm 494.

An alternative cable spooling assembly and shock absorber assembly isshown in NOS. 9, t9, and ii. That assembly is very similar to the cablespooler assembly indicated together with the other apparatus shown inF163. 5 and 6; and it will be noted that a single spooling sheave 964 isa feature of this embodiment. A longitudinal horizontal arm 999 ispivotally mounted between two frame mounted bearing plates 952 and 954.A pair of arms 956 and 959 are commonly mounted on rotational axis 969which is near the end of arm 959 and substantially perpendicularthereto. The axis 969 is substantially parallel to the axis of winch 926of P165. 5 and 6, and also to axis 926 of sheave 946 which is bearinglyand rotationally mounted at the upper end of arms 956 and 959. [itshould be noted that the apparatus of FIG. 9 is turned endto-end withrespect to the way it is to be seen in FlGS. 6 and 6.]

Qnce again, cable T92 is wrapped around the sheave 964 and passes fromthe winch 926 to the towing sheave 922 of FlGS. 5 and 6. A cablestabilizer comprises a pair of shock absorbers sich as hydrauliccylinders 966 and 968 which connect the arms 056 and 958 respectively tothe arm hall). Hydraulic cylinders 966 and ass are connected at theirlower ends to the arm 50 through a cross-shaft 770. The hydrauliccylinders 966 and 968 are pressurized by a suitable gas/oil accumulatorand act to damp out transient cable loads in the cable hi2 substantiallyin the same manner as described above with respect to the cable tensionstabilizer means shown in FIG. 7.

The spooler sheave 9.15 is usually considerably smaller than a winchdrum such as that which is indicated diagramatically in PEG. it at 972.It therefore becomes necessary to powerdrive the spooling sheave 96dathwartships of the vessel so that the upper cable reach 984 from thesheave to the winch drum 972 falls substantially into longitudinalalignment with the point on the winch drum from which the cable isreeling. One manner by which the spooling sheave 9M4 may be drivenathwartships is shown in FIG. 17, including a gear reducing box 974which has a drive input 976 coming rom the winch drum as the drum isrotating for reeling or unreeling of cable therefrom. A rotary output ofthe gear reducer box 947 takes the form of a crank arm upon which a camfollower 9380 is fitted. The cam follower 98b is engaged with a cam 982which is so profiled as to cause the spooler sheave 964 and the arms956, ass, and 95th together with the shock absorber cable tensionstabilizer assembly to pivot about an axis 936 which is substantiallylongitudinal of the arm The rate of drive and the camming arrangement issuch as to drive the spooling sheave 964 in increments of one pitch ofthe cable which is reeled on the winch drum J72 per turn of that drum.

FIGS. 12 and 13 shown more detail as to the construction of the winchassembly 108. The winch construction includes a substantiallycylindrical enclosure designated generally at 506}, which in turncomprises a pair of ends noted generally at 5&2, which ends are joinedby an enclosure plate 55% A transverse slot which is defined at itstransverse edges at SW and 512 is formed in the enclosure plate 508, andis formed from one end 502 of the frame 50-0 to the outer end 502. Thefaired tow cable W2 may be reeled or unreeled through the transverseslot onto one or a plurality of drums which may be (to-axially mountedwithin the frame Still, as discussed hereafter.

A drum assembly is mounted within the frame 500 on axis 5%. Theinnermost drum in a multi-drum assembly is driven at a sprocket 522which is rigidly secured to the drum by a drive transfer means such aschain 528 which in turn is driven by a drive sprocket 524i suitablycoupled to a drive means such as an hydraulic or electric motor 526. Anidler gear 532 is mounted on one of the ends $62.

Whether there is a single drum or a multi-drum assembly within the frameSill), the drum assembly is bearingly supported between the ends 502. Inthe embodiment illsutrated in the FIGS. 12 and 13, two drums 518 and5119 are co-axially mounted about the axis 506, with drum 529 being theinner drum which is rigidly secured to and driven from sprocket 522. Thebearing support means for each of the drums 518 and 519 includes, ineach case, a pair of opposed circular races with bearings between them.The outer drum SE8 is bearingly supported between the end 502 by a pairof races 515 and 5116 which form a suitable bearing aperture 504 betweenthem. Suitable roller or ball bearings are carried therein. In likemanner, the inner drum 519 is bearingly supported to the end plate 502to the end 513 of the outer drum 518. A circular race 520 is secured tothe end plate 513 of the outer drum 518, and an opposed race 521 issecured to the end plate 511 of the inner drum 5w. Latch means are alsoprovided, as discussed hereafter, to latch the drums for rotation ornon-rotation with respect to the frame 560, depending upon which of thedrums may be having cable reeled or unreeled therefrom.

it will be noted that the winch construction illus trated in FlGS. l2and 13 provides a winch having multi-drum capacity, as recalled, andwhich has quite a substantial lateral rididity within a lateral spacerequirement which is very little wider than the width of the drumsaccommodated in the winch structure. The enclosure plate 508, of course,provides substantial protection for the faired cable 1102 which isstowed within the winch structure. Also, as noted, the faiied cable 102is normally stowed in tension, so that the frame 506 including ends $02and enclosure plate 508 provides a substantial protection for 2dpersonnel working in the area of the winch in the event of a cablebreak. A guard, such as guard 529 shown in FIG. l is suitably providedover the drive transfer chain 528 and the sprockets 524 and 52.2 toprotect them from from icing and other weather conditions, dirt, etc.,as well as to protect personnel working near the winch 108.

It will be seen, particularly upon reference to FIGS. 12 and 17 as wellupon reference to the Hale US. Pat. No. 3,576,295 mentioned above thatwhen a multi-drum assembly is provided, it is necessary also to providesuitable latching means to latch any adjacent pair of drums together forrotation or for non-rotation relative to the static 5WD as the case maybe, depending on whether cable is being reeled or unreeled in aparticular drum or one adjacent to it. Thus, cable is stored on each ofthe drums in a multi-drum assembly, but is unreeled first from theout-erniost drum and thence serially inwardly to the innermost drum; asa corollary thereto, cable is reeled on the innermost drum first andthence outwardly serially to the outermost drum. In the most simplemul'ti-drum assembly, being a two-drum assembly such as that illustratedin FIGS. l2 and 17, cable is reeled off the outer drum and then off theinner drum, and reeled onto the inner drum and then onto the outer drum.

Referring to FIGS. l2, 13, 15, 16 and MA to MG, an automatic latch meansis described showing the manner in which drum 5E8 may be latched to drumSE9 to be driven therewith or latched in nonrotating position so as toallow only drum Slt) to be driven.

Referring specifically to the FIGS. it will be seen that the latch meanscomprises a plurality of levers, as fol lows. A first lever 69% isdirectly coupled to a shaft 6R0 which is rotatably mounted in an end ofthe inner drum 519. A second lever, 608 is also directly coupled to theshaft 610. A third lever 602 is rotatably mounted to the end of theouter drum 5118. A stop 6% is secured in non-rotating relationship toboth of the outer drums 518 and 519, and may be suitably secured to theouter portion of the end 502 of the frame sea of winch construction asshown in Fiture 312. Fourth and fifth levers 604 and 605 respectivelyare directly coupled to a shaft 667 which is rotatably mounted in theend of the outer drum 518.

The operation of the latch means is as follows. Referring to PKG. MA, itwill be noted that the outer drum 5118 is secured in non-rotatingposition by the interaction of both of levers 602 and 604 with the stop606. When the first lever 60b is in the position substantially as shownin FllG. MA that is, it does not extend radially outwardly at the end ofdrum 519 beyond the outermost extension of the drum drum W is adapted tobe rotated in either clockwise or counterclockwise direction, asindicated by arrow 62f. The first lever 660 has operative andnon-operative positions, the non operative position being such asindicated in FlG. MA when the inner drum is not completely filled withcable being wound thereupon. The shaft'6llll upon which levers 60(1) and608 are directly coupled, is rotatably mounted and situated in the endof drum 5119 in a position so that when at last half turn of cable isbeing wound onto the inner drum 519, the second lever 668 is depressedby the cable, and the first lever 666 is rotated by being directlycoupled to the shaft 6116 which itself is rotated by lever 66% beingdepressed, so that lever 666 assumes its operative position. FIG. l5clearly shows the manner in which the lever 696 is depressed by the lasthalf-tum of the cable 102 as it is wound onto the drum 5T9. [When thecable is being wound onto drum 5B9, the drum is being driven in theclockwise direction as shown by arrow 622 in lFlG. MB. It is also shownin FIG. MB that the operative position of lever 66b is such that itextends radially beyond the outer radial limit of the drum 519.Reference to FIG. MC shows that the lever 60th is engagable when in itsoperative position against lever 602, which is then rotated out ofengagement with stop 666, so that drum 516 is released so as to rotatein a clockwise direction as indicated by arrow 623. it is seen,therefore, that lever 602 cooperates with stop 666 to preclude rotationof the outer drum 5th in the reeling direction of that drum. It is alsoseen that when levers 666i and 662 are engaged, and rotation of thelever 662 is stopped by a stop 61133, the drive which is imparted to thedrum 519 is also transferred to drum 5 18, which rotates together withdrum 519 and at the same rotative speed therewith.

As the first half turn of cable is wound onto the drum 51%, it engagesthe lever 665 which is directly coupled to shaft 667 to which lever 664iis also directly coupled. The lever 64M is therefore rotated to itsnon-operative position, out of co-operation with the stop 666. in thatcondition i.e. when cable is wound onto drurn SW and at least a halfturn of cable is wound onto drum 518 each drum is free to rotate ineither direction as indicated by arrow 62 1 in FIG. ll lll).

When cable is unreeled from drum 5T6, as the last half turn is removedfrom the drum, lever 665 is returned to the position shown in FIG. 16 sothat lever 60d engages with stop 606. During unreeling from drum 518,both drums 5118 and 519 are driven in the counter-clockwise direction.It is thus seen that the operative position of lever 64% is such as toco-operate with stops 606 to preclude rotation of the outer drum 51th inthe unreeling direction of rotation thereof.

As the first half-turn is unreeled from inner drum 5119, lever 66%returns to its original position and may be biased by such as spring611T shown in FIG. so that lever 660 disengages from lever 662, and

lever 662 re-engages with stop 666 and co-operates therewith so as topreclude rotation of drum 518 in the reeling direction of rotationthereof. The condition of all the levers which comprise the latch meansas shown in FlG. G is, therefore, substantially identical to thecondition of those levers as they are shown in FIG. A.

FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic representation of a typical two-drum assembly,comprising inner drum S19 and outer drum 5118. A transverse slot 766 isformed in the outer drum 516 between the lips 762 and 764. The width ofthe slot itltl is such as to permit cable to be reeled or unreeled fromdrum 519 when drum 518 is non-rotative. The distance between drums 5Mand S18 is such that when a faired cable 1162 under tension is stowed onthe drums, there is no interference of the cable on drum 5116 with thecable on the drum 519 through the slot 766.

The material of the drum 5% is profiled in the region of lips 702 and 763 so that the apparent radius of curvature of the material is less thanthe nominal radius of the drum, and each lip curves noticeably inwardlytowards the interior of the drum. it is preferable that the lip be soformed that the edges 762 and of the transfer slot 76%) underlie thecable which lies across the slot and is curved away from contacttherewith. in this manner, radial loads which are induced by the cabletension of cable B62 in the drum 5H8 are reduced to zero at the edges ofthe radial slot.

it will be noticed, of course, that when the cable 162 is being reeledor unreeled from drum 5119, it will be in the position as indicated at7M; and when the reeling transfers to drum 5 t8, the cable lifts ontothe drum 5% past the lip 762. The cable then assumes the positionindicated at 7112 for reeling or unreeling from outer drum 5116.

The reduced curvature in the region of the lips 72 and 764 is such thatthere is an increase in section moldulus of the material of the drum513, and therefore a reduction of stress in the drum. it is thereforepossible to provide the slotted drum 5118 having a strength ofcapability to withstand reeling, unreeling and stowage of cable undertension thereon, and which strength capability is substantially equal tothat of the conventional unslottecl drum of the same nominal diameter.

When a faired cable is wound onto a drum, it is desirable to include ahelical groove on the outer surface of that drum. in the past, suchhelical grooves have been machined into the surface of the drum with thecommensurate high machining and material costs. The present inventioncontemplates the formation of a grooved outer surface for a drum bysecuring to the surface of a plain drum an outer layer of a relativelyflexible material which has a suitable cross-section. Thus, an extrusionsuch as that indicated at T5612 in FIG. lb may be secured to the face ofa drum indicated at 866, with an interface 36d which may suitably be anadhesive. Relatively flexible materials which are suitable forapplication to the surface of the drum so as to form a grooved surfacethereon, include aluminum extru sions and rigid or semi-rigid vinyl orother suitable plastics.

it has been noted that, in the usual circumstance such as illustrated inFllGS. l to 6, the saddle is an inverting saddle against which the towedbody is securely held when in its stowage position, and which inverts topermit passage of the towed body through the air/water interface. inthat case, a saddle such as saddle EM shown in FIG. 19, may be used, Thesaddle assembly 104 includes suitable bumpers or rollers 324 isprovided, and the bumpers 324 are such that the towed body may besecurely held and nested against them. The saddle 164 is rotatably aboutthe axis of rotation 216, which is also the axis of rotation of the towsheave 316. It has been noted that it is desireable to provide meanswhereby a substantially constant pressure of contact can be maintainedagainst the nose of the cable 102 when the body is being towed; and alsothat the body may tow very nearly beneath the vessel, even at highspeeds when the cable is properly faired. The angle that the fairedcable 102 makes with the nominal surface of the water is the piercingangle, and is shown in FIG. 4, at 300. it has also been noted thatother, non-inverting saddles may be used, such as the saddle indicatedgenerally at 326 in FIG. 21. That saddle may be mounted to pantographarms 328 and 330, and the latter arms may be rotatably mounted andbearingly support a shaft 332 upon which tow sheave 316 is rotatablymounted. (The Jareckie US. Pat. No. 2,780,196, referred to above, showsthe use of a pantographic assembly.)

The piercing angle 300 of the faired cable 102 changes as the speed ofthe vessel changes. Also, as the vessel turns or rolls, the faired cable102 may assume a two-off from the towing sheave 316; i.e. the cable doesnot tow straight from the tow sheave. It is important, of course, tokeep the cable from escaping from the tow sheave, and provision is madeby the invention contemplated herein for transferring side loads fromthe cable during tow-off. Such provision may include a roller box suchas the roller box 328 shown in FIG. 21 or the roller box 330 shown inFIG. 19. lln FlG. 21, roller box 328 includes a frame 332, a nose roller334 and a pair of side rollers 336; and the roller box 328 is rotatablyand bearingly mounted to the shaft 332 by arms 338. It will be noted,therefore, that the roller box 328 is free to rotate on the shaft 332about the same axis of rotation 340 as that of tow sheave 316,independently of saddle 326.

Because of the change of piercing angle, and the requirement toaccommodate side loads during tow-off, it is important that the rollerbox be such as to maintain a substantially constant pressure of contactbetween the nose roller and the cable; and it has been found that it isbest when the direction of the axis of the nose roller and the directionof the axis of the cable as it passes through the roller box andcontacts the nose roller be substantially perpendicular. Also, duringtow-off when there may be contact by the cable to either of the siderollers, it has been found to be best when the direction of the axes ofthe side rollers are substantially perpendicular to the direction of theaxis of the cable so as to preclude any tendency of the cables tocorkscrew" during interference of the cable with either side roller.Thus, it is desireable to provide the roller box so that the directionof the axes of the side roller, the direction of the axis of the noseroller and the direction of the axis of the cable as it passes throughthe roller box during normal towing operation, are all mutuallyperpendicular. These principles hold true both with respect to theroller box 328 which is free to rotate about axis 340 independentlyabove saddle 326, as shown in FIG. 21; and roller box 330 which ismounted for rotation together with the saddle 104, about axis 218, asshown in FIG. 19.

Bias means are therefore provided to effect rotation of the roller boxabout its axis of rotation; particularly so as to maintain substantiallyconstant pressure of contact between the nose roller and the forwardedge of the cable. With reference to the roller box 330, the nose rolleris indicated at 302 and the side rollers at 314; while in roller box328, the nose roller is indicated at 334 and the side rollers at 336.The bias means is the same for each roller box, and includes a springmeans such as an hydraulic cylinder 334 which is attached to the deckframe ll MD in a convenient place. The hydraulic cylinder isconveniently pressurized by gas/oil accumulator 306. A cable 303 isattached to the hydraulic cylinder 305 and is wrapped around andterminates at cam 312 at the cable end remote from the cylinder 304. Thecam 312 is securely fixed to the saddle box 328 or 330, so that as thecam rotates under the influence of the spring means such as hydrauliccylinder 304, the respective roller box also rotates therewith. Thespring means biases the roller box upwards so as to maintain asubstantially constant pressure between the nose roller 302 or 334 andthe cable 102 as it passes through the roller box.

The shape of the cam is profiled to provide a variable torque to theroller box due to the bias effect of the spring means, so as to takeinto account the shifting centre of gravity of the roller box (or rollerbox and saddle combined) as it rotates. Thus, the cam is profiled toprovide a biasing torque to the roller box which varies substantiallydirectly as the amount which the centre of gravity changes position, andis therefore a function of that change.

The design of the cam 312 may also take into account the fact that asthe cylinder 304 retracts, the gas pressure in the gas/oil accumulator306 reduces. The torque arrn generated by the cam 312 (being thedistance between cable 308 and axis 216 or 340), must increase becauseof the combined effect of the shifting of the centre of gravity of theroller box and the reduced biasing effort supplied by the cylinder 30d.

There is shown on the roller box 330 of FIG. 19 a curved plate 318 whichcurves away from the frame and from the nose roller 302 therein at theend of the frame remote from the nose roller. The purpose of the plate318 is a cable depressor, and is shown diagramatically in FIG. 20.There, it will be seen that when the submersible and towable body issecured into the saddle 104 by the tension in cable 102, and the saddleis inverted as shown, the cable reach from the saddle is lifted off thetow sheave 316 and the cable pull is horizontal. It has been mentionedabove that when the towed body is launched, the deck frame is tilted onthe skewable A-frame before the saddle is inverted as shown, the cablereach from the saddle is lifted off the two sheave 316 and the cablepull is horizontal. It has been mentioned above that when the towed bodyis launched, the deck frame is tilted on the slcewable A- frame beforethe saddle is inverted to insert the towed body through the air/waterinterface, the length of cable which is unreeled from the winch remainsconstant. Thus, plate 318 depresses the cable so as to maintain tensiontherein; and therefore the fairings which are applied to the cable stopshort of the tow point 320 on the towed body, at a point 322.

There has been described an improved apparatus for launching, towing andrecovering a submersible and towable body from a vessel, including;apparatus having a transom arm which together with a deck frame on whicha winch, saddle and tow sheave are mounted forms a skewable A-frame, andan alternative embodiment thereof; alternative embodiments of a cablespooler assembly and cable tension stabilizer; an enclosed winchconstruction for single or milti-drum assemblies to be rotatably mountedtherein; an improved, automatic latching mechanism for latching adjacentco-axial drums in a multi-drum assembly for reeling and unreeling cablefrom any drum thereof; an improved drum construction having stressrelief and an inexpensive grooved surface; and alternative embodimentsof a roller box and saddle assembly for maintaining constant nosepressure against the cable during towing, and for accommodating sideloading during tow-off.

It is not intended that the preceeding discussion be limiting withrespect to the invention described herein, but illustrative ofprinciples and concepts involved.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for launching, towing and recovering a submersible andtowable body from a vessel, where said apparatus includes: winch meansfor storing cable, at the outer end of which cable said body is secured;rotatably sheave means over which said cable runs, said sheave meanshaving an axis of rotation situated lengthwise along said cable betweensaid body and said winch means; saddle means against which said body issecured when in its stowed position; and deck frame means upon whichsaid sheave, saddle and winch are mounted; the improvement comprising:

transom arm means pivotally attached to said vessel to form incombination with said deck frame means, a skewable A-frame, one foot ofsaid A- frame being at the pivot point for said transom arm means, theother foot of said A-frame being at a point on said vessel where loadingfrom said apparatus transfers to the vessel, and the apex of saidskewable A-frame being at the axis of rotation of said sheave means;

and actuator means secured to said vessel and to said deck frame meansto move said deck frame means with respect to said vessel so as to skewthe apex of said skewable A-frame.

2. The apparatus of claim l where said transom arm means comprises atleast one arm adapted to bearingly support said sheave; said arm beingpivotally mounted to said vessel at an end of said arm remote from saidsheave and at a point below the level at which said winch operates.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 where said transom arm means comprises apair of arms, each pivotally mounted to said vessel at a point below thelevel at which said winch operates; the upper end of each of said pairof arms being adopted to bearingly support said sheave for rotationabout said axis of rotation.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 when mounted at the aft endof a vessel, saidactuator means being adapted to drive the upper ends of said transom armmeans, the rear end of said deck frame means, and said sheave,backwardly and downwardly from said aft end of said vessel.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 where said actuator means compriseshydraulic ram means having foreand-aft ends relative to the fore-and-aftdirection of said vessel, where the foreward end of said hydraulic rammeans is pivotally attached to said vessel and the aft end of saidhydraulic ram means is arranged so as to skew the apex of said skewableA-frame backwardly and downwardly with respect to said vessel.

6. ln apparatus for launching, towing and recovering a submersible andtowable body from a vessel, where said apparatus includes: winch meansfor storing cable, at the outer end of which cable runs, said sheavemeans having an axis of rotation situated lengthwide along said cablebetween said body and said winch means; saddle means against which saidbody is secured when in its stowed position; and deck frame means uponwhich said sheave, saddle and winch are mounted; the improvementcomprising:

roller box means mounted for rotation about the axis of rotation of saidsheave; said roller box means comprising a frame, a pair of side rollersin said frame and situated so that one of said pair of side rollers lieson each side of said cable when said body is being towed and said cableextends downwardly from said sheave to said body, and a nose roller atone end of said frame adapted to contact the forward edge of said cablewhen said body is being towed;

and bias means to effect rotation of said roller box about said axis ofrotation so as to maintain substantially constant pressure of contactbetween said nose roller and the forward edge of said cable; said biasmeans including cam means adapted for rota tion about the axis ofrotation of said sheave together with said roller box means, and a cablewrapped around said cam and secured at its end remote from said cam tospring means.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 where said pair of side rollers and saidnose roller are mounted so that the direction of the axis of the noseroller is substantially perpendicualr to the direction of the axis ofeach of said side rollers; and so that during normal towing operationwhen said cable extends downwardly from said nose roller andsubstantially in a perpendicular direction when viewed from above withrespect to said nose roller, said bias means is adapted to maintain theposition of said roller box with respect to said cable so that thedirection of the axis of said side rollers, the direction of the axis ofsaid nose roller, and the direction of the axis of said cable as itpasses through said roller box in contact with said nose roller, are allmutually perpendicular.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 where said spring means includes anhydraulic cylinder pressurized by an hydraulic accumulator.

9. The apparatus of claim where said cam means is such that as saidremote end of said cable is drawn by said cylinder away from roller boxand said roller box rotates about the axis of rotation of said sheave,the torque provided by said cable as it is wrapped around said cam tosaid roller box varies substantially directly as the amount which thecentre of gravity of said roller box changes position, so as to keepsubstantially constant pressure between said cable and said nose roller.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 where said saddle and said roller box aremounted for rotation with each other about said axis of rotation of saidsheave, and said saddle is secured to said roller box.

11. The apparatus of claim 6 where said saddle and said roller box aremounted for rotation with each other about said axis of rotation of saidsheave, and said saddle is secured to said roller box.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a curved plate at theend of said frame remote from said nose roller, said plate curving awayfrom said frame and said roller box.

1. In apparatus for launching, towing and recovering a submersible andtowable body from a vessel, where said apparatus includes: winch meansfor storing cable, at the outer end of which cable said body is secured;rotatable sheave means over which said cable runs, said sheave meanshaving an axis of rotation situated lengthwise along said cable betweensaid body and said winch means; saddle means against which said body issecured when in its stowed position; and deck frame means upon whichsaid sheave, saddle and winch are mounted; the improvement comprising:transom arm means pivotally attached to said vessel to form incombination with said deck frame means, a skewable A-frame, one foot ofsaid A-frame being at the pivot point for said transom arm means, theother foot of said A-frame being at a point on said vessel where loadingfrom said apparatus transfers to the vessel, and the apex of saidskewable A-frame being at the axis of rotation of said sheave means; andactuator means secured to said vessel and to said deck frame means tomove said deck frame means with respect to said vessel so as to skew theapex of said skewable A-frame.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 where saidtransom arm means comprises at least one arm adapted to bearinglysupport said sheave; said arm being pivotally mounted to said vessel atan end of said arm remote from said sheave and at a point below thelevel at which said winch operates.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wheresaid transom arm means comprises a pair of arms, each pivotally mountedto said vessel at a point below the level at which said winch operates;the upper end of each of said pair of arms being adopted to bearinglysupport said sheave for rotation about said axis of rotation.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3 when mounted at the aft end of a vessel, saidactuator means being adapted to drive the upper ends of said transom armmeans, the rear End of said deck frame means, and said sheave,backwardly and downwardly from said aft end of said vessel.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 4 where said actuator means comprises hydraulic rammeans having fore-and-aft ends relative to the fore-and-aft direction ofsaid vessel, where the forward end of said hydraulic ram means ispivotally attached to said vessel and the aft end of said hydraulic rammeans is arranged so as to skew the apex of said skewable A-framebackwardly and downwardly with respect to said vessel.
 6. In apparatusfor launching, towing and recovering a submersible and towable body froma vessel, where said apparatus includes: winch means for storing cable,at the outer end of which cable said body is secured; rotatable sheavemeans over which said cable runs, said sheave means having an axis ofrotation situated lengthwise along said cable between said body and saidwinch means; saddle means against which said body is secured when in itsstowed position; and deck frame means upon which said sheave, saddle andwinch are mounted; the improvement comprising: roller box means mountedfor rotation about the axis of rotation of said sheave; said roller boxmeans comprising a frame, a pair of side rollers in said frame andsituated so that one of said pair of side rollers lies on each side ofsaid cable when said body is being towed and said cable extendsdownwardly from said sheave to said body, and a nose roller at one endof said frame adapted to contact the forward edge of said cable whensaid body is being towed; and bias means to effect rotation of saidroller box about said axis of rotation so as to maintain substantiallyconstant pressure of contact between said nose roller and the forwardedge of said cable; said bias means including cam means adapted forrotation about the axis of rotation of said sheave together with saidroller box means, and a cable wrapped around said cam and secured at itsend remote from said cam to spring means.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6where said pair of side rollers and said nose roller are mounted so thatthe direction of the axis of the nose roller is substantiallyperpendicualr to the direction of the axis of each of said side rollers;and so that during normal towing operation when said cable extendsdownwardly from said nose roller and substantially in a perpendiculardirection when viewed from above with respect to said nose roller, saidbias means is adapted to maintain the position of said roller box withrespect to said cable so that the direction of the axes of said siderollers, the direction of the axis of said nose roller, and thedirection of the axis of said cable as it passes through said roller boxin contact with said nose roller, are all mutually perpendicular.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 6 where said spring means includes an hydrauliccylinder pressurized by an hydraulic accumulator.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 8 where said cam means is such that as said remote end of saidcable is drawn by said cylinder away from roller box and said roller boxrotates about the axis of rotation of said sheave, the torque providedby said cable as it is wrapped around said cam to said roller box variessubstantially directly as the amount which the centre of gravity of saidroller box changes position, so as to keep substantially constantpressure between said cable and said nose roller.
 10. The apparatus ofclaim 9 where said saddle and said roller box are mounted for rotationwith each other about said axis of rotation of said sheave, and saidsaddle is secured to said roller box.
 11. The apparatus of claim 6 wheresaid saddle and said roller box are mounted for rotation with each otherabout said axis of rotation of said sheave, and said saddle is securedto said roller box.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising acurved plate at the end of said frame remote from said nose roller, saidplate curving away from said frame and said roller box.